Global financial services firm Morgan Stanley has raised $5 million in funding for the investment while IFC, the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector, is to invest up to $2.5 million.

“I cannot think of a better time to develop this business in Africa. Africa is the world’s last frontier for agriculture, with only one quarter of its yield potential achieved and seventy percent of its farmland as yet unused”, said Dr. Eleni Gabre-Madhin founder Eleni LLC

Commenting on the deal, the Managing Director of Morgan Stanley Mr. Gary Offner the company is “pleased to join with IFC in supporting eleni and its vision of improving transparency and liquidity in agricultural markets in the developing world, where food security is often a pressing concern.”

According to Georgina Baker, Director Trade and Supply Chain IFC, the investment will enhance productivity and risk management while making finance more accessible for farmers and helping them to increase their share of profit and get paid more quickly.

Beyond the initial funding, each country or regional exchange project will involve the formation of a private investor consortium. Eleni aims to rollout exchanges progressively across Africa and elsewhere in the coming years.

It is also anticipated that a third investor, the 8 Miles Fund, an Africa-focused private equity fund, will join the investment round within a month, together with envisaged support from the African Development Bank.

Building on the success of the highly acclaimed Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX), which she founded and managed from 2008 to late 2012, Gabre-Madhin and co-founders Mr. Keith Thomas and Mr. Jawad Ali have recently launched eleni, which is positioned to be the industry leader in designing, building, and supporting the operations of commodity exchange eco-systems in frontier markets.

The Company’s business model is based on delivering turnkey projects on a Public-Private Partnership (“PPP”) basis, combining private investment with the best of know-how, technology and management, to support exchange projects. The Company expects to launch several such projects in 2013.

The post Morgan Stanley, IFC Invests $7.5 million To Boost Food Security appeared first on Ventures Africa | .

Information compiled by the FTSE Group reported that the NSE FTSE 15 and NSE FTSE 25 indices both performed significantly better than other emerging market indices being tracked by the global index and data company.

This has led FTSE to its prediction that 2013 will see a spike in international investors flocking to the NSE.

“Interestingly both the FTSE NSE Kenya 15 Index and the FTSE NSE Kenya 25 Index had a superior performance to the FTSE ASEA Pan Africa Index (excluding South Africa) and the FTSE All-World Index series,” said FTSE Group Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa, Jonathan Cooper, reports Business Daily.

“Such performance will only continue to highlight the investment opportunity of Kenya to investors globally,” he predicted.

In 2012, the amount of net purchases on the NSE by foreign investors totalled 21.73 billion Kenyan Shillings ($251 million); an already positive figure given that the country is currently under international scrutiny as its next election approaches – the first since the infamous elections in 2007 which saw the wide-spread outbreak of tribal violence across the country.

The upcoming elections in themselves could have been enough to deter investors from the Nairobi market, both in terms of 2012 results and with a view to 2013 predictions. However, with the NSE’s strong performance in the year-end results for 2012, contrary to expectations, the FTSE Group believes investors will be more attracted by Kenyan investment prospects than ever before.

The top five performers of the NSE FTSE 15 and 25 in descending order were the KCB Group, Safaricom, EABL, Equity Bank and KenolKobil.

The post Nairobi Securities Exchange To See Increased Foreign Investment appeared first on Ventures Africa | .

Meristem Research, a financial market consultancy firm showed in a recent study that the Kenyan stock market came second with a 39.32 percent YTD return on investment.

The Nigerian and Ghanaian bourses followed with a 35.45 percent appreciation, while the South African market returned a 23.81 percent profit to investors.

The rise of the Egyptian stock market which plummeted in capitalization by almost 50 percent in 2011 as a result of protracted economic and civil unrest, has been largely tied to prospective political progress in the country.

Local and foreign investors have plunged belief and funds in the market following a seemingly continuing calm at the end of the revolution that saw its former president Hosni Mubarak ousted.

However, the economic outlook of the country is uncertain. Massive unemployment persists, with fresh crisis erupting fuelled by religious disagreement over new constitutional make up.

The government has sort foreign aid from the World Bank, and several countries, with confidence that the funds will boost investor confidence in the economy and help drive growth.

According to BusinessDay, the US Dow Jones Average closed the year with YtD of 6.40 percent, NASDAQ Composite Index 13.95 percent, UK FTSE All Share Index 8.61 percent, France FAC 40 Index 14.80 percent and German Dax Index, 29 percent.

YtD from China’s Hang Seng was 23.90 percent, India BSE 30 index 25.82 percent and Japan Nikkei 225, 22.94 percent.

With comparison to the African contemporaries, the performance profile shows that African markets are the most attractive on returns, and is expected to drive increased migration of investors to emerging and frontier markets like Nigeria, other African countries.

Egyptian Exchange (EGX), comprises two exchanges, a Cairo and an Alexandria based bourses, with both governed by the same board of directors and sharing the same trading, clearing and settlement systems.

The post Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria Rated World’s Most Profitable Stock Markets appeared first on Ventures Africa | .

This is according to Sandy McGregor, the manager of fixed interest and individual client portfolios at Allan Gray, a South African investment management company.

Almost all African countries are dependent on export of primary commodities. The last decade saw unprecedented rise in the price of these commodities.

This is described as most significant primary commodity price boom in the last four decades. This primary commodity boom is primarily fuelled by a demand surge for primary commodities from newly emerging economies such as China and India.

In addition, the decade also witnessed a number of natural resource discoveries in Africa, particularly oil. This allowed many African countries to benefit from the global price rise of primary commodities.

According to the Institute of African Economic Studies (IAES), a surge in export earning owing either to a rise in global prices of primary commodities or a new discovery, though beneficial in terms of providing much needed resource and in spurring growth, it also brings with it, among other things, macroeconomic challenges.

“It increasingly looks as if we have seen the peak of the great commodity boom which commenced in 2002 and was driven by a rapid increase in demand in developing economies, especially China,” McGregor said in a note.

He said rising export prices have rewarded commodity exporters such as Australia, Chile and South Africa with a decade of prosperity.

But now what had been favourable had become adverse. No longer would these countries be able to sit back complacently and allow the rising tide of prices to carry them ever forward to increasing prosperity.

“The prospects for South Africa are particularly worrying. While Chile and

Australia have a strong skills set which will enable them to reinvent themselves and change their focus to compensate for shrinking mining revenues, South Africa probably lacks the skills and market flexibility to do this,” according to McGregor.

“This is the biggest challenge our country faces because it impacts directly on all our other problems. How will the economy grow after the end of the commodity boom?”

The post Commodities: A Casualty Of Slower Emerging Market Growth appeared first on Ventures Africa | .

As disclosed by the head of the Khartoum Stock Exchange in an interview with Reuters on Thursday, this comes as a direct effect of the Khartoum bourse’s recently launched computer-based trading system in January with assistance from Oman.

Since its launch, it has ended the writing of bond and stock prices on white boards.

It is not the first time the stock exchange would be getting assistance from Gulf Arab; since its inception in 1995, it had benefited received assistance from Gulf Arab bourses such as Dubai, Muscat.

Since the commencement of the computer bourse trading, the stock market has witnessed rise in volumes for shares and bonds which have increased to double the amount it recorded at the end of 2011, general manager Osman Hamad Khair said.

“We are expecting trading volumes to at least double this year,” he added.

Furthermore, the introduction of the new trading system has translated into a record 13 new firms being listed, adding to the 40 previously listed firms.

Risk-willing foreign investors from the Gulf region currently make up about 25 percent of trading, a number that was on the rise despite Sudan’s economic woes with annual inflation hitting 37 percent in June.

The need for Sudan to develop its stock market with latest technologies is pertinent to attracting foreign investment to the African Arab nation – investments that will help overcome the severe economic crisis that has triggered protests against high inflation.

With the help of India, Sudan is also planning to set up hopes to set up a trading platform for gold due to its rising importance for the nation’s economy, and to compensate for the loss of oil revenues – following the country’s split from oil-rich South Sudan – which previously made up 90 percent of exports.

The post Sudan Stock Market Gets Support From Gulf Arab Investors appeared first on Ventures Africa | .

According to Reuters report, the sanctions on the oil marketer, which is in the process of a takeover by Swiss-based Puma Energy, was announced by the Kenyan bourse today.

Puma had made an offer to acquire all the shares in KenolKobil, which reported net sales of $2.5 billion last year and earnings of $59 million. KenolKobil also confirmed a deal would be in place after due diligence, regulatory approval and price confirmation.

This development confirms KenolKobil’s hints at delisting from the stock exchange prior to the imminent takeover.

The post Kenyan Bourse Suspends Trading in KenolKobil Shares appeared first on Ventures Africa | .

Reuters reports indicate that the bond, which will be listed on the West African bourse, will be marketed to investors across the region’s CFA currency zone from April 23 to May 22. It will be sold in units of 10,000 CFA, said an official of SOGEBOURSE, the investment banking arm of bank SocGen.

According to an official, who pleaded anonymity, the funds will be used to rebuild the Ivorian economy, notably infrastructure projects

.

The post Ivory Coast Reveals Plans To Issue $120m 3-Year Bond appeared first on Ventures Africa | .

Egypt’s bourse announced the sanctions on Thursday in a statement on request of the country’s regulator. Although no details were provided.

France Telecom has finalised a deal to buy most of its partner’s stake in Mobinil for 1.5 billion euros. Under the terms of the accord, France Telecom will buy most of the stake held by Naguib Sawiris’ holding company OTMT.

France Telecom’s bid to buy Sawiris’ biggest share in Mobinil was perceived to bring an end of the long-standing dispute between the company’s major shareholders.

According to Reuters report, Chairman of financial market regulator EFSA, Ashraf el-Sharqawy, said the deal is subject to regulatory approval in Egypt.

He also stated that the watchdog would give its response this week.

The post Egypt’s Stock Exchange Suspends Trading on Mobinil, Orascom appeared first on Ventures Africa | .

EVENTS:

THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS
The International Criminal Court rules on Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga, who is accused of conscripting, training and arming hundreds of child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s 1998-2003 conflict. This is the first ruling by the ICC since it was set up in The Hague as the world’s first war crimes court.

GHANA
Ghana due to release inflation data for February.

KENYA
Central Bank of Kenya auctions 182-day Treasury bills worth 3 billion shillings.

KENYA
Energy Regulatory Commission issues its fuel monthly price review. Fuel prices have a significant impact on the country’s inflation.

MAURITIUS
Bank of Mauritius to auction 1.5 billion rupees of a reopened 5.5 pct three-year Treasury note

KENYA
Nation Media Group releases its full year earning results.

GLOBAL MARKETS
The dollar jumped against the euro and the yen on Tuesday after comments by the Federal Reserve drove down expectations that it would further ease monetary policy, and U.S. stocks notched multi-year highs on optimism on the economy and after JPMorgan raised its dividend.

WORLD OIL PRICES
Brent crude eased towards $126 on Wednesday as expectations for a build in U.S. crude inventories offset improving economic sentiment in the world’s top oil consumer.

SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS
South African stocks bounced back on Tuesday led by resource stocks such as Lonmin and African Rainbow Minerals as platinum rallied for a fifth day in a row and following encouraging confidence data from Germany.

And the rand was steady in its recent range on Tuesday, with investors awaiting comments from U.S. Federal Reserve at 1815 GMT, especially on any fresh monetary stimulus measures which could pump more cash into the global economy and buoy emerging markets.

NIGERIA MARKETS
The Nigerian Stock Exchange said on Tuesday share purchases by foreign investors leapt 80 percent to 512 billion naira ($3.23 bln) last year, despite an overall fall in the main stock index in the same period.

NIGERIA ECONOMY
Nigeria’s economy grew at a faster rate in the fourth quarter last year than the previous three months because of a stronger performance in the non-oil sector, particularly telecoms, data showed on Tuesday.

NIGERIA ZENITH BANK
Nigeria’s Zenith Bank expects to grow its loan book by 20 percent to almost 1 trillion naira ($6 billion) this year as it targets the manufacturing and infrastructure sectors, its chief executive said on Tuesday.

NIGERIA SECURITY
At least seven people were killed in separate attacks by suspected Islamist militants targeting security patrols in northern Nigeria on Tuesday, police said.

KENYA MARKETS
The Kenyan shilling held steady at a near 13-month high on Tuesday, supported by high lending rates and reduced dollar demand, while shares fell as investors booked profits after a three-week-long rally. At close of trade, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 82.20/40 against the dollar, barely changed from 82.15/35 Monday’s close. The Nairobi Securities Exchange’s main NSE-20 Share Index fell 1.22 percent to close at 3,358.60 points.

KENYA STANDARD CHARTERED BANK
Standard Chartered Bank of Kenya reversed loss-making positions in its trading book during the second-half of last year to secure a 7 percent increase in pretax profit to 8.3 billion shillings ($100.67 million), it said on Tuesday.

KENYA ATHI RIVER MINING
Kenyan cement maker Athi River Mining expects sales and profit to grow 30 percent this year provided it can resolve a dispute with the national environmental agency which has ordered it to shut down a clinker plant.

TANZANIA ECONOMY
Tanzania’s economy is projected to expand by 6.5 to 7 percent in 2012-13, up from about 6.3 percent in 2011, with its deficit cut to 5.5 percent of gross domestic product, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.

GHANA COCOA
Ghana’s cocoa production this season will rival last year’s record 1 million-tonne crop due to improved weather and farming techniques, the West African country’s cocoa regulator told Reuters on Tuesday.

IVORY COAST POLITICS
Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara kept a promise to a key ally on Tuesday by naming his new prime minister, Jeannot Kouadio Ahoussou, from the ranks of the PDCI party – the only major change in his newly announced government.

ZAMBIA ECONOMY
Economic growth in Zambia is expected to pick up this year to reflect strong growth in copper production and non-maize agriculture, the International Monetary fund (IMF) said on Tuesday. ZIMBABWE MINING Impala Platinum, the world’s second-biggest platinum producer, has bowed to Zimbabwe’s pressure to surrender a 51 percent stake in its Zimplats unit to local black investors, the company announced on Tuesday.

ANGOLA SONANGOL
Angola’s Sonangol is in talks to buy a direct stake in Portugal’s Galp Energia, which holds interests in four oil blocks and a gas export project offshore Angola, a senior executive from the state-run African oil company said.

The post African Markets – Factors to watch on March 14 appeared first on Ventures Africa | .

With gold prices steady above $1,650 an ounce and a growing number of juniors producing in Africa, it is increasingly likely that those discussions might be about acquisitions in places like Burkina Faso or Ivory Coast.

“Africa’s become … a really significant place for new business, like the new frontier,” said Peter Leon, head of the Africa mining and projects practice at Webber Wentzel, a Johannesburg law firm.

In a report released just before this week’s PDAC conference in Toronto – the world’s largest mining gathering – PriceWaterhouseCoopers said it expects the continent to emerge as one of the most important mining M&A geographies of 2012 with “substantial” acquisition volumes.

“Unparalleled resource potential and an increasingly investor-friendly climate are two of the drivers of this view,” PwC global mining leader Tim Goldsmith said in the report, which calls for record global mining M&A volumes in 2012.

The traditional pattern of mining M&A – larger players buying up small miners and explorers to replace their own depleted mines – fits well with the African mining landscape, analysts say.

Some liken it to an earlier-stage Latin America, where larger miners such as Barrick Gold and Goldcorp have since scooped up several small players or projects.

In Africa, by contrast, small developers still rule the landscape, leaving plenty of space for takeovers by larger players or among smaller miners looking to gain heft.

Robert Sibthorpe, chief executive of Burkina Faso-focused explorer Roxgold Inc, said the company has “had discussions with operating companies” in the past year, which prompted it to adopt a shareholder rights plan last fall.

The company, among the hottest performers on the TSX Venture Exchange, has captured the attention of investors after a series of impressive drill results that suggest a high-grade deposit at its main project.

Endeavour Mining, which doubled in size and production when it acquired Australia’s Adamus Resources last year, is looking to add to its current roster of mines and projects in Ghana, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast.

“Our acquisition strategy is focused on West Africa. It’s focused on acquiring additional producing assets and we may acquire a late stage development project,” said Neil Woodyer, CEO of the Vancouver-based company.

The expected uptick in M&A this year follows a slow grind through the latter part of 2011, when volatile stock markets and uncertainty about funding – brought on by economic malaise and concerns about Europe’s financial system – forced would-be buyers to err on the side of caution.

But rebounding stock markets, combined with easing concerns about a slowdown in China and a rise in mining-related equity sales have boosted optimism that deals will get done.

“There’s lots of deals that one way or the other probably would make sense,” said Kerry Smith, an analyst at Haywood Securities, though he noted that there hasn’t been much M&A activity of late.

Smith said the normal obstacles to deals are at play in Africa, including disagreements over how to value a company in a still shaky market, job security for executives at the target company, and signals from investors that they may not want the added risk of a acquisitions.

“What I kind of hear (from investors) is managing expectation and meeting your guidance and a lot of investors want increased dividends and share buybacks, he said.

Also of concern in Africa is resource nationalism, particularly after Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe moved to force mining companies to surrender majority stakes in their firms last year.

However, such moves are an exception rather than the rule, said Webber Wentzel’s Leon.

Rather, many governments will impose higher taxes and royalties, and in the case of some regions, the moves will provide more balance to a system that, in the past, disproportionately favored the companies.

Ultimately, he says, the risks of working on the continent are outweighed by business positives.

“You’ve got a huge consumer market, you’ve got a growing middle class, you’ve got much more economic development, more African countries are becoming democratic,” he said.

“Certainty in the mining space, the resource space, Africa is hugely important.” Click to read the full story

The post Africa emerges as new frontier for gold M&A appeared first on Ventures Africa | .